Success in fantasy football takes more than instincts — it takes insight. Just like SurveyMonkey AI helps you transform insights into action, these Booms & Busts give you fantasy intel and help you adjust your lineup and strategy to take control of your season.
The Baltimore Ravens were dreaming big all summer. They were one of the Super Bowl favorites and one of the fantasy football darling teams. A juggernaut just waiting for gas and the open road.
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But sometimes, reality bites. As we get ready for the second week of October, Baltimore is 1-4 — and looking like a scary fantasy investment.
Hopefully, Week 5 was a bottoming out of sorts. An equally desperate Houston team came to Baltimore on Sunday and took the Ravens behind the woodshed. The final score was 44-10, Texans, and that might not be descriptive enough. The Texans had 27 first downs, the Ravens just 10. Houston rolled up 417 yards of offense, Baltimore managed just 207.
Of course, Baltimore is missing all sorts of key personnel, starting with QB Lamar Jackson (hamstring). Backup QB Cooper Rush was harried into three picks, while Derrick Henry (15 carries, 33 yards) couldn’t find lanes behind a patchwork offensive line. Henry did find the end zone late in the third quarter, when the score was already out of hand.
With Henry struggling and the Ravens reluctant to let Rush dominate the offense, the Baltimore pass-catchers were forced to work on limited volume. Zay Flowers at least caught all of his targets and salvaged a 5-72-0 line, with 56 of the yards on one fortuitous play. Mark Andrews (2-22-0) was only targeted twice. All three of Rashod Bateman’s targets were incomplete.
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Things might not get better immediately. Baltimore hosts the Rams next week, with Jackson no sure thing to return. Then it’s a Week 7 bye — a well-timed break, all things considered. The Ravens defense is even more injury-riddled than the offense. That’s a big reason why the Houston offense finally let its hair down.
Jackson and Flowers are the type of fantasy trade targets that a winning roster might consider — players you can wait for if you’re probably going to be 5-0 or 4-1 after his week. Their managers might need to liquidate immediately, but others could have the benefit of patience.
Henry is a tougher call. He’s navigating his age-31 season, his 10th year in the NFL. He’s dealt with fumbles and he’s been at 50 rushing yards or fewer in four straight weeks. We know he’s never going to be a big part of the passing game.
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Andrews also needs Jackson back in the worst way. He’s been held under seven fantasy points in four of his five starts this year, and like Henry, it’s the back nine for Andrews. He’s now in his age-30 season, and it’s possible Isaiah Likely could cut into the Andrews workload in the second half of the year. (Likely has been slow to onboard this year, dealing with his own injury issues.)
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The funky thing about Houston’s offensive explosion was that most of it was steered at players you couldn’t have trusted for fantasy. C.J. Stroud did toss four touchdown passes, but two of them went to Xavier Hutchinson (3-18-2) and a third went to Jaylin Noel (2-13-1). The passing game targeted 10 players in all, too wide for our taste.
At least Nico Collins (4-52-1) had one of the scores, though he always deserves more than five targets. Christian Kirk (4-64-0) and Dalton Shultz (5-60-0) were respectable.
The Houston backfield was a curveball, too. Waiver darling Woody Marks only made 24 yards on his seven carries, while veteran Nick Chubb grinded out 11 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown. Neither had a reception. The snap count was fairly even and we have to take both players seriously with Joe Mixon likely not returning this year, but it was pesky to see Marks do so little on a day where Houston won easily. Dameon Pierce was the clean-up man late, rushing seven times for 21 unimpressive yards.
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Cowboys continue to deliver
Maybe we can cleanse the palate with the Cowboys and Jets.
Most of the primary fantasy angles came in while Dallas scored a 37-22 victory. The Cowboys opened up a 30-3 lead late in the third period, then let the Jets dominate in garbage time. But hey, we just want the points.
Dak Prescott continues to thrive despite the absence of alpha WR CeeDee Lamb. Prescott threw for 237 yards and four touchdowns, with no turnovers and just one sack. That’s a 127.4 rating and 8.2 YPA despite Lamb on the sidelines. Snappy stuff.
George Pickens (2-57-1) bailed out his day with a late 43-yard touchdown (Sauce Gardner mostly marked him well), and Javonte Williams (139 total yards, two touchdowns) has been the late-round steal of the fantasy season. Jake Ferguson (7-49-2) continued his touchdown-correction tour, working the short areas well. Prescott especially trusts him on third down.
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But did anyone see Ryan Flournoy coming? A sixth-round pick from the 2024 draft, Flournoy had just 14 career catches before Sunday. But Prescott looked his way early and often at New York, leading to a 6-114-0 explosion. It goes to show you how talented the league is, where virtual unknowns can sometimes just be waiting for an opportunity. Maybe Flournoy can offer flex-league juice until Lamb comes back.
It’s miraculous that the Jets bailed out their fantasy day, because they were awful for about 40 minutes in this game. But Justin Fields kept battling and competing, and eventually landed on 283 passing yards and two touchdowns. He also took five sacks, a return to the problem that’s held back most of his career. But at least he kept the ball going where we want, liberally targeting Garrett Wilson (6-71-1) and Mason Taylor (9-67-0) on about half of his attempts. Fields also scrambled for 26 yards and clicked on a couple of two-point conversions.
Fields might need to go on ice for Week 6, hosting the nasty Denver defense. But the Panthers and Bengals are fun matchups after that.
In Other Week 5 Booms
— Chuba Hubbard managers, you might want to leave the room. Hubbard (calf) couldn’t play against Miami, enabling Rico Dowdle to explode on the scene — 206 rushing yards, 234 total yards, over 30 fantasy points. Dowdle would have been even better if not for some second-half cramping, which allowed Trevor Etienne to steal a few carries. There hasn’t been a smash game yet for Tetairoa McMillan (6-73-0), but at least he drew eight targets. He’s gaining steam with Bryce Young. Be patient there.
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— As is often the case, Tua Tagovailoa was just good enough to lose with. But 256 passing yards, three touchdowns, no turnovers, we’ll certainly take that. Jaylen Waddle (6-110-1) smashed without Tyreek Hill, as expected. Tagovailoa missed him on at least one more deep opportunity. Darren Waller (5-78-1) had a monster first half, then didn’t draw a second-half target. It’s hard to say if that’s on Tagovailoa, Waller or head coach Mike McDaniel. Success has many parents, but so does failure. The 1-4 Dolphins host the Chargers next week.
— The Raiders actually defended Jonathan Taylor fairly well, holding him to 66 yards on 17 attempts. But the Colts were constantly in the red zone and Taylor was often the finisher, punching in three touchdowns. Mix in a 3-20-0 day receiving and a two-point conversion and Taylor sailed over 28 points for the third time this year. I can’t see how the Cardinals will hold back the Colts next week, especially with Daniel Jones (113.0 rating, no turnovers or sacks) playing so crisply.
In Week 5 Busts …
— Jaxson Dart is confident, competitive, scrappy. He’s also a work in progress as a passer. He managed just 5.1 YPA against the pedestrian Saints defense, with most of the connections coming to backs and tight ends. As for the wideouts we wanted to trust, Darius Slayton (3-31-0) and Wan’Dale Robinson (5-30-0) didn’t do much. Slayton, Dart and Cam Skattebo (104 total yards) all lost key fumbles in the loss. It won’t get easier against the Eagles next week.
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— Given that Denver’s win over Philadelphia was close throughout, it was strange to see Saquon Barkley land on just six carries for 30 yards. Barkley bailed out his day with a 47-yard touchdown catch. Perhaps a couple of revenge games against the Giants (Week 6, Week 8) will return Barkley to his fantasy perch. DeVonta Smith (8-114-0) was active against the Broncos, but A.J. Brown (5-43-0) didn’t get much out of eight targets.
— I’ve been a Geno Smith believer for most of the past few years, but it’s getting difficult to stay the course. Smith threw two more picks and took four sacks at Indianapolis in the 40-6 blowout. It didn’t help to be without Brock Bowers, of course, but Smith couldn’t get anything going with Jakobi Meyers (4-32-0, six targets). Ashton Jeanty’s day survived on volume — 19 touches, five receptions, 109 total yards. At least a dreamy Week 6 home game against Tennessee is on the way.
This news was originally published on this post .
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